LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Just days after being named to the Spring 2015 Academic All-Mountain West Team, UNLV's MacKenna Howard was tabbed to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Track & Field Team.

Howard, a rising sophomore out of Los Alamitos, Calif., is majoring in biological sciences and registered a 3.56 cumulative grade point average for the 2014-15 academic year.

Out of the classroom, Howard notched the second-best distances in the program's indoor and outdoor performances lists for the shot put. She threw the indoor mark of 52-7.25 (16.03m), which was good enough for second place, at the MW Championships, while the outdoor measurement of 51-6.5 (15.71m) occurred at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. She claimed fourth at the MW Outdoors and 28th at the NCAA Preliminary in the shot put.

Howard is the first Rebel to earn the USTFCCCA's honor since Kelsey Williamson, Emily Blok and Ashley Franklin did so in 2013.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards - for indoor season, must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or for outdoor season, must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).